Use Google Services to Find Your Lost Android Device

It’s safe to say that almost everyone owning a mobile phone has lost it at least once. Sometimes you just can’t remember where you last your phone. As a result, especially in the case of an expensive smartphone, panic ensues.

So what do you do when you lose your phone? Normally, people go crazy looking everywhere for their devices, but Google has just added a new feature to its Android operating system which can help you easily locate your phone.

Simply Log On to Google

We all know that Google can help us find almost anything we need to find, and now that includes your Android phone. Here’s how you can Google where your phone is:

Before starting, you need to be sure that you are logged into the same Google account on your PC’s browser as on your smartphone. Another prerequisite of this method is that you should have the latest update of the Google app on your Android device.

In order to find your phone, all you have to do is type ‘find my phone’ in the Google search bar on your computer. Google then reaches for its online servers, locates your phone thanks to the synchronized Google accounts, and gives you its location on a map.

While Google cannot give you the exact coordinates of your phone, it sure can give you a pretty accurate, general location.

For all those people who are wondering whether they can use this method to find their tablets, you can.

Ring Your Phone

Many times it so happens that you lose your phone in your home or office. While Google can’t pinpoint the location of your device through this method, it can do the next best thing; it can give you a phone call so you can hear where your device is hiding.

The Alternative Methods

In case your phone has been stolen, or has very private data that you can’t risk to be seen by anyone, you can use the Android Device Manager app to locate it. Simply go to the browser version of Android Device Manager, and type in your credentials. You can also remotely lock the device with this method, or completely erase all data from it.

Similar Functionality for iPhone Users

If you lose your iPhone, you can locate it using Apple’s answer to Google’s service. Apple calls this ‘Find My iPhone’, and it works the same way. It uses your iCloud account instead of your Google account to locate your iPhone. You can also lock the device, or erase its data with this method.

Using a Tracking Software

If you like to keep your data completely secure and under supervision, you can use a tracking app as well. This is especially useful for employers who cannot trust their employees with private data. Tracking apps not only allow you to locate a phone in case it is lost or stolen, they will also help you always be aware of what is happening on the target device. If an employee of yours happens to ‘lose’ their phone with priceless company data on it, you can easily erase all content from it if you are unable to locate it.

So there are not many ways to locate a stolen or lost phone. While tracking apps have existed for a long period of time, the step Google has taken to bake this functionality right into Android is definitely going to make a lot of lives easier.